Duncan moved to her other breast, giving it equal tantalizing attention as she felt even more pressure in her head.

Rose blinked through the forceful sensation tapping on her outer consciousness, demanding entrance. Her body was responding in kind to Duncan's seduction. Her sex pulsed in a desperate need to feel him inside her while her heart rate thundered in her ears.

"I can't," she responded in a heavy pant to his mental presence waiting to be let in.

Duncan's lips moved down her belly and his hands cupped her buttocks, elevating her hips.

Rose met his glowing golden gaze. "I'm not capable of sharing the emotions you seek from me, Duncan."

Duncan's gaze turned stormy. "It's not a matter of can't, it's a matter of won't," he insisted before he lowered his mouth to her sex and ran his tongue along her slit all the way to her clitoris. Without hesitation, he latched on and began to suck hard.

Shuddering sensations slammed through her at his relentless attention to her swollen bud. Again, she felt his presence in her mind, angry, resentful, dominant...waiting.

When Duncan slid two fingers inside her channel and began to rub on her hot spot, Rose arched her back and rocked her hips to the rhythm of pleasurable sensations rolling through her.

"Duuuuncan," she breathed out.

Open to me, he insisted in her mind.

Her head thrashed back and forth as she fought the tide of emotions ricocheting through her. No, I can't let this feel so good. I won't let him make me. In truth, Duncan made her feel so much, even she couldn't sort through the jumbled emotions slamming into her.

He withdrew his hand from her body and she kept her eyes closed, breathing a sigh of agonized relief from the onslaught of emotions. She wanted to come so bad, but this orgasm came with a price she was unwilling to pay.

The heat of his body moving over hers and the nudge of his cock pressing against her entrance caused Rose's eyes to snap open.

She thought she saw deep hurt in his gaze before his mouth covered hers. She tugged on her invisible bonds, but Duncan hadn't released her. His tongue swept against hers, angry, possessive. As she kissed him back and lifted her hips, waiting to accept his thrust, Duncan's pace slowed. He seemed to want to explore her mouth, to let her know just how much he enjoyed the act of kissing. The feel of his cock pressing against her core, but not penetrating sent her libido into overdrive.

She bucked to let him know what she wanted, but Duncan only stayed just outside her reach, taunting her with a gentle nudge and "almosts".

Let me in, Roisin, he spoke in her mind once more as he moved his lips to her neck and pressed them against her pulse.

This time, he slid partially inside her. The sensuous stretching of skin felt so good. Rose whimpered when he withdrew once more.

"No," she whispered.

Duncan slowly guided himself a little farther inside her. "Release me," she panted. She wanted desperately to wrap her arms around his shoulders, to keep him close, to make him forget this ridiculous game and take her body. Make her forget why she didn't want to feel.

"You've had the ability to release yourself anytime you wanted," he replied and kissed her jaw. Rose lifted her arms, realizing they weren't held down as Duncan had led her to believe. Had she subconsciously wanted to give herself to him? To give him total physical control if she couldn't give it to him mentally?

When he began to speak in Irish to her, mumbling sexy words in her ear she didn't understand, she ran her hands up his muscular back and clasped him to her. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she said, "I can't understand you, but I know you want to be right where you are."

Duncan thrust inside her to the hilt with a guttural groan then captured her gasp of initial pain in another bone-melting kiss, turning the sensation into sheer pleasure.

When he began to shaft her, slow and sure, he spoke mentally. Your body tells me that it wants to be right where it is, too, a ghra-accepting me. But I want to hear your thoughts.

As her lower muscles absorbed each thrilling plunge he made inside her, Rose dug her nails into Duncan's back. "I can't."

"Then tell me what you feel," he ground out at the same time he picked up his pace, rocking into her body with forceful thrusts.

Her entire frame shook with her impending climax, but Duncan's lesson of speaking to her in Irish was a good one. She'd desperately wanted to know what he had said to her, what sexy words he'd spoken.

Tingling sensations rippled through her all the way to her core. "I love how you make me feel," she panted out, lifting her hips to absorb every bone-melting jolt he gave her. "Sexy, wanted and so desperate to have you inside me I can't see straight," she finished with a wail as her walls began to contract around him. "God, Duncan!" she gripped his shoulders tight, holding him close as her body clenched in a deeply satisfying orgasm. At the same time, she felt his shoulders and back tense.

"You feel so good," Duncan said in a hoarse voice. He rammed into her again and again as if he couldn't get deep enough. His chest felt heavy and hard, pressing against her breasts while the force of his aggressive pistoning caused another orgasm to hit her. When he climaxed, Rose rode the wave of desire swirling between them until they both collapsed in each other's arms.

Rose's heart raced while Duncan's body settled over her. She welcomed his warmth and his blanket of weight. Tangling her legs with his, she ran her hands down his back, surprised by the light sheen of sweat she encountered. Smug satisfaction filled her. She'd gotten to him more than he showed. The realization made her frown. Wait a minute. He'd demanded she share when he continued to hold back. Why did he constantly hide himself from her?

Tapping him on the shoulder she said, "Er...um...I've got to go to the bathroom."

Duncan lifted his head, then kissed her jaw before withdrawing from her body. Rose felt a piercing loss in the pit of her stomach the moment he separated himself from her. The sensation was so strong, so gripping she actually stumbled on the way to her bedroom.

"You okay?" she heard him ask from the floor.

Grasping the back of her couch for support, she waved her hand behind her. "Yeah, I'm fine," before she continued to the bathroom.

Duncan watched her leave the room and wondered what she was thinking. Damn, it rankled she wouldn't let him in. Rose had the strongest will of any being he'd ever encountered. Her mind was like a steel trap, reinforced with an impenetrable wall. He knew she had emotions clamoring to be shared and he wanted to hear those emotions. He wanted to share in her climax, experience what she felt. But she blocked his every move.

Propping himself up on his elbow, he contemplated the complex woman. When Ian shook her hand, he'd experienced a connection with Rose that had surprised Duncan. It was as if Rose were some kind of conduit to the special twin connection Ian and Duncan shared. Somehow, Ian instantly knew the name Roisin that Duncan called her.

She's special, Dunc, Ian had said mentally.

She's a very strong-willed woman, Duncan had replied in the same manner, his tone neutral.

No, whatever it is, it's deeper...more...fundamental, Ian had countered, sounding intrigued.

Rolling over on his back, Duncan was forced to acknowledge Ian's words. The fact Ian picked up on it disturbed him more than he cared to admit. Duncan couldn't explain the automatic trust Rose had in him from the first moment they met, especially considering her past. Nor could he explain his need to know her thoughts, to push her to share her emotions.

The more intimate he became with Rose, the deeper he felt her every physical reaction. He'd experienced her wooziness when she'd gotten up to go the bathroom, felt her force herself to stand up straight...and damn it, he'd never experienced such simple things with another. But when it came to her sexual reactions to him, he ran into a well-guarded fortress.

His inability to overcome her strong mental block pissed him off, because what just occurred was the best damn sexually satisfying and physically draining experience he'd ever had with a woman, even without taking her blood. For the first time in his long life he'd wanted to share the experience, to share with her what he felt, every single shudder.

When she'd climaxed, he wanted to take her blood...his body demanded it. He'd had to lock his jaw and clamp his mouth shut. It hurt like a sonofabitch since he'd been unable to control his fangs extending. The sharp points dug into his lips as the need to mate hammered within him. He'd come so close to just letting go and taking her blood, the primal urge was that strong. She said he'd beg for it...she was damn near right!

Never had he been forced to hold back the beast within him as much as he did with this woman. Then again, he'd never met anyone like Rose before. No one made him this insatiable, this desperate, this mother-fucking confused.

Grinding his teeth at the conflicting thoughts rambling through his mind, Duncan stood and resolved to keep his emotions under control when it came to Rose. Control came first.

Always.

Rose walked out of her bathroom, rubbing the pads of her fingers on her left hand. While she'd washed her hands and dried them on the towel, she'd noticed the tingling numbness, yet she couldn't figure out what she'd done to cause it.

"What's wrong?" Duncan asked.

She glanced up and her gaze landed on his naked form. Her fingers momentarily forgotten, she let her gaze slide over his gorgeous, naked body. He'd disposed of the condom and when her line of vision strayed to his impressive cock, it hardened instantly.

"Nice to see you, too." She glanced up with a grin only to see a frown on his face.

He stepped closer and gripped her hand, repeating in a forceful tone, "What's wrong with your hand, Roisin?"

"I don't know. My fingertips are numb and I'm not sure why."

Rubbing his thumb across her fingers, he glanced at her. "Is it only the fingers on this hand?"

She nodded, only to see a knowing grin spread across his face before he used his hold on her hand to jerk her forward.

"Hey, it feels weird," she commented, then let out a yelp of surprise when he threw her body over his shoulder and headed for her bed.

"I know, love," he commented with a chuckle before he tossed her body on the soft bed and landed on top of her.

"What's so amusing?" she asked when Duncan rolled to his side and pulled her close.

He lifted her left hand and stuck her first finger in his mouth, swirling his tongue around the sensitive tip.

Her stomach tightened in response to the tingling sensation his seductive act caused.

"It's from playing the guitar. Though it usually takes extended play time to cause the numbness for someone new to learning."

Rose remembered the time she'd spent on her mother's guitar and nodded her agreement. "I...um...practiced on my mom's guitar for a while yesterday, too."

"Ah." He raised a knowing eyebrow as he moved to the next finger and the next, giving them the same treatment. Her heart rate rose with each finger he caressed with his tongue. When he had her pinky in his mouth, instead of a gentle swipe of his tongue, he sucked on the small tip. Her nipples hardened, aching to be sucked...just like that.

Duncan's grip on her hand tightened as if he sensed her thoughts. The rough sensation of his fingers moving across the back of her hand made her realize what he was doing. Pulling her pinky from his mouth, she grabbed his hand and sat up on her elbow.

"You were healing my fingers, weren't you?"

Running her thumb across his callused fingertips, she met his languid gaze with a curious look.

"Why don't you heal your own?"

Duncan's relaxed gaze sharpened at her question. Glancing at her hand he planted a kiss on her palm. "It's a part of me," he simply stated, then moved his lips to her wrist.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as he trailed his kisses down her arm, but she refused to be sidetracked. "Like your music?"

He flicked his gaze to hers before lowering it to her shoulder to follow the trail his fingers made across her naked skin. "Like my music."

Goose bumps formed at the heated path his fingers traced down her collarbone and across the curve of her breast. "Why did you lie to me about your ability to sing?"

He didn't look at her when he responded in a low tone, "It's a part of my life I keep separate."

"You mean you hide behind."

When he jerked his gaze her way, anger flaring in the golden depths, she barreled on. "Why don't you allow others to see this entertaining, personable side of you?"

Duncan let his gaze fall to her breasts. He tweaked her nipple, but didn't respond to her question. She bit back the moan that threatened to escape. The fact he refused to discuss this other persona with her angered her, making her want to push him out of his comfort zone. "Even with your fans, you hold back."

That got his attention. Duncan's gaze met hers once more, a shocked look on his face. "Hold back?"

"I've heard you play your own music. Saw notes for songs you've composed. Why don't you sing a song you've written?" When he didn't answer, she continued in a lower voice, "You give without really giving just like you do when we're together."

Duncan's gaze darkened. "You're the pot calling the kettle black if I've ever seen one."

She sat up, more furious than she'd ever been in her life. "Bullshit, Duncan. You expect me to open my mind to you, but you hold your real self in constant check as if..." she paused, thinking through the reasoning why, then continued, guessing, "as if you're afraid of rejection."

Duncan sat up, his eyes glowing in his fury. "I've never wanted a woman as much as I want you, Rose. I'd fuck you into next week if I could."

Rose trembled in sexual awareness at his lurid words, his adamant tone and tense, squared shoulders.

"Yet you still held back from me. You didn't take everything I offered you," she countered.

He gripped her arms. "What did you offer me that I didn't take?" he said in a low tone, his voice on a dangerous edge.

"My blood."

Duncan slammed her back on the bed, pinning her to the mattress. Thrusting his hard thigh between hers, he gave her a feral smile and replied mentally in a volatile tone, Are you offering, a ghra?

The sight of his fully extended fangs made her heart ram against her chest and her stomach clench in an inexplicable primal response. She arched her back and turned her head so he'd have better access to her neck.

Duncan growled at her silent offer and lowered his mouth to her neck, clamping his teeth on the soft skin.

"Are you asking?" Rose taunted him in a husky tone. Threading her fingers in his hair, she slid them down to his neck to pull him closer.

She gasped when tiny sharp pinpricks grazed her throat, holding her still but not piercing her skin. Duncan slid his hand between her thighs, cupping her sex. Running his finger through the bit of hair left between her legs, he found her plump nub and rubbed it in a small circle.

The rough pad on his finger caused exquisite friction. Rose couldn't help herself. She groaned and rocked her hips in response to his seductive play of her body.

Are you asking? he challenged in a seductive tone, applying pressure.

In response, Rose slid her hand down his tight stomach muscles and wrapped her fingers around his erection.

Duncan shuddered when she stroked him, then growled low in his throat.

His threatening response made her wet with need.

"Yes, damn you. I'm asking," she panted out.

Duncan bit her at the same time he thrust two fingers deep inside her body.

His groan vibrating on her neck lessened the swift pain, turning it into a jolt of extreme pleasure shooting down her body straight to her sex. Her walls instantly clenched around his fingers and Rose screamed out at the dual erotic sensations. She bucked against his hand as he sucked hard on her neck, taking her blood.

I can't read you. She heard the frustration in his voice as he spoke in her mind. Tell me, he demanded.

"It feels indescribably good...don't stop," she whispered between pants, digging her fingers into his neck and arching her back to get as close as she could. "Tell...tell me what I taste like," she whispered, her pulse racing. Knife-piercing desire curled in her lower belly and her body ached for release.

Duncan grunted when she clenched her hand tighter around his cock. He twisted his fingers around and began stroking her G-spot, his movements relentless, assured.

You taste like...mine! he responded in a fierce, resolute tone.